CRIMESTOPPERS say the £10,000 sum they are offering for information on the murder of Betty Yates is "rare" and reflects the "heinous" nature of the crime.

The beating and stabbing of the 77-year-old widow in her own Bewdley home prompted the charity to offer 10 times the amount of money they usually give for clues which help convict murderers.

Pauline Hadley, Crimestoppers regional manager for the West Midlands, explained the charity always offered a reward but a sum of this size was extremely rare.

A typical payout is a minimum of £100 for information regarding antisocial behaviour and a maximum of £1,000 for murder clues.

“In the case of particularly heinous crimes, we decide to offer a much larger reward in the hope that it will encourage someone to come forward with information,” she explained.

In her nine years covering West Mercia, West Midlands, Warwickshire and Staffordshire, she said she had never known Crimestoppers offer £10,000 until this month, when it also put up the same amount for help to solve the double killing of Avtar and Carole Kolar in Birmingham.

She said only four per cent of people entitled to a reward claimed it, for fear of losing their anonymity but assured Shuttle readers that their identity would never be revealed.

“When someone calls our Crimestoppers line they are given a code,”Mrs Hadley explained.

“They have to ring us back, if they think somebody has been arrested and charged. We check out if it is as a result of information they have given us and, if it was, we ask which bank and when they would like to collect the money.

“They go to the bank, quote the code and they are handed the cash, no questions asked. It’s a very simple process.”

She urged people to contact Crimestoppers if they had any information which could help catch Mrs Yates’ murderer.

“This was a cowardly attack on a vulnerable, defenceless lady in her own home,” said Mrs Hadley. “It’s completely shocked the local community and wider. Somebody out there knows who did this and we beg anyone with any information that might help find the murderer to contact Crimestoppers immediately.

“Your anonymity is guaranteed, whether you call 0800 555111 or fill in our online secure form at crimestoppers- uk.org. Tell us who is responsible so that we can bring peace for Mrs Yates’ friends and family.”

The reward of up to £10,000 is offered for information provided to Crimestoppers through the anonymous number that leads to an arrest and conviction of those responsible for the crime